Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment Minister of Education, Culture and Employment
The Honourable Caitlin Cleveland was first elected in the 19th Assembly as the MLA for Kam Lake in 2019, and has served as the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, and Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment since 2023 after being acclaimed to the 20th Assembly.
In addition to owning and operating a northern business for over 20 years, Minister Cleveland worked in a variety of communications and policy roles in both the public and private sectors before entering politics.
Between 2019 to 2023, she chaired the Standing Committee on Social Development, fulfilling a goal to be a part of the discussions and decisions affecting social programs in the Northwest Territories. Her noteworthy work on the Committee included guiding the considerable review and input into recommendations on housing in the NWT, suicide prevention, and improvements to caring for children in care and building supported families.
Within the scope of her portfolios, Minister Cleveland is focused on helping children grow into successful NWT residents that recognize opportunities and develop successful careers that contribute to a growing economy. She advocates for new approaches to sector diversification and innovation, and ensures the North is welcoming both skilled foreign workers and investment in the critical mineral resources across the territory. She persistently explores solutions for efficient and equitable access to programs and services, upholding a shared vision of an NWT where people are supported in the ways they wish to live, work, and grow.
Minister Cleveland is a lifelong resident of Yellowknife where she lives with her husband and their three children.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, under the act there is no indication that ECE would have to take control or possession of the remains of this person. The act, as I have indicated before, the language in it, does need to be updated. It wasn't drafted long ago under the knowledge that we would be here in this place years later. But we are here, and we are taking remedies to acknowledge that this act does need to be updated and taking steps to start that process to update this piece of legislation.
In other pieces, for example in other modern treaties in this territory, language...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in regards to -- this is a very sensitive topic. It's a very important topic. And it's incredibly important that we find a way forward that respects the treaty rights of all Indigenous governments -- or and all Indigenous people in this territory. And ultimately Education, Culture and Employment has no interest in standing in the way but certainly has an interest in ensuring that they are upholding the treaty rights of all Indigenous people in this territory.
And so what I would like to say to the Member, Mr. Speaker, is that I really welcome the...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this fits really nicely over within our workforce development and labour section over in Education, Culture and Employment, and so I don't think we need to go and create a new division, per se, or hire more people. I think there's an opportunity for us to look at the programs that we already have and figure out ways to structure them. An example of that is I've been working closely with some of our Indigenous development corporations and working to figure out how we at the department can better support their workforce development and training...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this is something that is incredibly important to me and something that I definitely intend to uphold. Mr. Speaker, within this legislation -- sorry. Can we come back to this question, Mr. Speaker, please. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, our current legislation was drafted some time ago. It needs to be updated to reflect human remains, especially unmarked graves and especially in regards to our residential school legacy across Canada.
I can advise the Member, and confirm for this House, that that piece of legislation is due to be updated, and that is work that we are undertaking over the course of this Assembly. It's something that will happen under our Intergovernmental Council protocols because that's a piece of legislation that will be co-drafted, and that work has been jump...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, always happy to talk about this and always happy to sit down and talk about the goals of any organization or resident. So should the city of Yellowknife wish to pursue a territorial park on Tin Can Hill, first and foremost they would need to have that as part of their city plan. They would need to then transfer the land over to the GNWT. The GNWT would then need to add that park to their regulations. But before that would happen, we would first need to decide if that was an area where we wanted to spend our budget within the GNWT to put another...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I hear the Member as far as, you know, talk is cheap, and action is crucial, and we are taking action. There's due process underway right now, and we are honouring those processes. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there is due process that needs to take place with anything that has to do with public servants in this territory. While we do have an Education Act, the Education Act also has clauses that points to the Public Service Act, and we do have a Northwest Territories Teachers' Association who has a collective agreement. We need to make sure that we are operating with due process in the territory while respecting the residents of the territory as well. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document: 2024-2025 Office of the Regulator of Oil and Gas Operations Annual Report. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this would be, you know, a much larger conversation. I'm certainly happy always to take conversations like this back. I would also say that -- you know, recommend that people reach out to health and do their vaccinations, and then we can work together to avoid situations like this. Thank you.
